iProvo deal sealed &#151; almost

Provo officials and South Jordan-based telecommunications company Broadweave Networks signed closing documents Monday night to transfer operation of the citywide fiber optic network.

The final settlement will take place within 60 days.

Mayor Lewis Billings said the date of the final settlement was delayed to allow potential investors to complete due diligence.

"While everything has not been finalized ... the transaction between Provo and Broadweave is, for all intents and purpose, complete," he said.

Under the terms of the deal, the city will receive a $40.6 million payment for the network by taking out a loan in what's described as an owner-financed transaction.

Broadweave will immediately assume operation of the iProvo network and will make monthly bond payments of $277,000 for the next 19 years to pay off Provo's bonds, plus interest, for a total of about $63.2 million.

Although the city and Broadweave have entered into an interim network operation agreement, pending the final settlement, Broadweave CEO Steve Christensen said both parties anticipate a smooth transition and customers should only expect one difference.

"They will notice an increase in service quality," he said. "But it's going to take time to work through those issues."

He also said he doesn't expect the deal to fall through.

"I'm very confident in this deal going forward," he said.

Billings said they were not able to complete every aspect of the closing transaction by Monday night, as previously planned, because the deal involves many entities besides Broadweave and Provo. He held up a copy of the asset purchase agreement  a 3-inch thick ream of paper  to illustrate all the details they had to sort through.

"Holy Hannah," he said. "It's like riding a roller coaster at Lagoon."

Christensen said Broadweave will keep in touch with customers over the coming weeks to keep them apprised of the transition process. He said the company will honor their existing package prices. He also said they will send out letters to current customers offering them rebates of one month credit if they sign up for a year of services.

Christensen said they will also start an aggressive marketing campaign. He said they'll be upping the ante since he's heard Comcast and Qwest have representatives going door-to-door mentioning the iProvo transition will cause chaos for current subscribers.

"We're just glad they're talking about us and spreading our brand," he said.